Application for Dutch passport rejected

[Valiant24]

Hi

My father was born in the Netherlands in 1940, into a wholly Dutch family, and remained a citizen of The Netherlands until his untimely death aged 49 in 1990. Although he lived in the UK for many years he never became a UK citizen.

I was born in the UK in 1961 and have lived my whole life here. I applied for a Dutch passport last year on the basis of the information at https://ind.nl/en/dutch-citizenship/Pag ... ement.aspx ("Were you born before 1 January 1985? You are a Dutch citizen by law if your father was a Dutch citizen at the time of your birth ..")

Despite this definitive pronouncement my application was rejected, on the basis that something happened in the 1980s that made adult Dutch citizens born abroad and who have lived abroad as adults deemed to have given up their citizenship.

Does anyone else have any experience of this rule? Are there any grounds for Appeal?

Thanks
V

[secret.simon]

Also see similar thread.

Dutch nationality is quite easy to lose. It is lost by acquiring another nationality or by a long absence (more than 10 years) outside the Netherlands (or the EU) without a Dutch passport. It is possible that you may have been born a Dutch citizen (through your father), but may have lost the Dutch citizenship by not having a Dutch passport for more than 10 years.

These are of course the current rules, but it is quite likely that rules before your birth in 1961 were similar. You may want to consult a Dutch lawyer to see if there is any way that you can acquire Dutch citizenship based on your familial connection.

[Valiant24]

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think that the Law at the time of my birth is the key factor. At the time of my rejection I was told:

"Under Dutch nationality law in force since 1 January 1985 [an adult who has lived outside the Netherlands for 10 years as an adult and is also a citizen of the country in which he/she lives] loses his/her Dutch nationality on the grounds on the 10-year rule .... Please note that recently a judgment was passed by the European Court of Justice regarding the loss of Dutch nationality on the grounds of the 10 year rule. The courts in the Netherlands are now dealing with cases that had been pending whilst awaiting the ECJ judgment. This judgement and the subsequent judgements in the Netherlands may - in time - lead to a change in the law".

Looking at the Dutch website it now says - as it did not say two years ago - that the 10-year rule applies to people living outside the Netherlands .... and the EU. Previously the EU bit wasn't there.

I am wondering how I can find out if the law has changed without submitting a new application and just getting rejected on the same grounds, or splashing out on a lawyer.

Thanks

[secret.simon]

I don't think that the Law at the time of my birth is the key factor.

I am not a lawyer, let alone a lawyer of Dutch nationality law. My advice below is based on how equivalent British nationaility legislation would work. And in similar cases in UK law, it is perfectly possible to have lost citizenship by previous nationality legislation.

It seems that in Dutch law, the previous legislation to the 1985 nationality law was in 1892, so to an extent, there is not much legislation to research.

A perfunctory Google search for "dutch nationality act 1984" brought up this interesting and informative source and I quote from it below.

If you were born prior to 1 January 1985, then you acquired (or did not acquire) Dutch nationality under the provisions of the WNI (1892).

...

5. Dutch nationals who were born outside the Kingdom and outside of the Republic of Indonesia would lose Dutch nationality (except those who were in the service of the Kingdom) and who resided for ten (10) continuous years outside of the Kingdom, unless they gave notice to the Dutch authorities they wished to retain Dutch nationality before the 10-year period expired (i.e., by age 31). Another 10-year period would start to run on the day such notification was given. As for minor-aged children, the 10-year period would start to run on the day they reached the age of majority (21 years at the time in the Netherlands).

Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap (1985)
On 1 January 1985, the RWN (1985) entered into effect.
...
This new article 15(c) (hereafter referenced as “article 15(c) (oude)”) unequivocally states that a dual Dutch national born outside the Netherlands who possessed both Dutch nationality and the nationality of the country of birth and who resided in the country of birth would lose his or her Dutch nationality if, after attaining the age of majority, he/she lived in his/her country of birth for an uninterrupted period of 10 years and he/she was a citizen of that country.

What does this mean?
As a result, many dual Dutch nationals, either knowingly or unknowingly and living abroad, lost their Dutch nationality on or subsequent to 1 January 1995 (1 January 1985 (effective date of the RWN (1985) and article 15(c) (oude)) + 10 years = 1 January 1995).

So, as I mentioned, I suspect that you may have lost Dutch nationality years ago (in either 1992, based on the 1892 legislation or 1995, based on the 1985 legislation), not recently. And loss of nationality can occur automatically, by operation of law, if certain conditions, such as absence from the Netherlands, were to occur.

Please note that recently a judgment was passed by the European Court of Justice regarding the loss of Dutch nationality on the grounds of the 10 year rule. The courts in the Netherlands are now dealing with cases that had been pending whilst awaiting the ECJ judgment. This judgement and the subsequent judgements in the Netherlands may - in time - lead to a change in the law"

More info on the judgment:
Dutch expat dual nationality ruling could kickstart reforms

Draft proposals were due to be published last spring, but a ministry spokesman told DutchNews.nl last year that the review was still ongoing and partly depended on jurisprudence stemming from the Tjebbes case, which has now been finalised.

(Article dated 14th February 2020)

Tjebbes and Others v Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken: A Next Step in European Union Case Law on Nationality Matters?

CJEU: Member states can deprive dual nationals of EU citizenship

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has affirmed that EU member states can, where certain conditions are met, remove citizenship from dual nationals even if that would lead to them losing their EU citizenship status.

However, it added, the principle of proportionality requires an individual examination of the consequences of that loss for the persons concerned from the point of the view of EU law.

I am wondering how I can find out if the law has changed without submitting a new application and just getting rejected on the same grounds, or splashing out on a lawyer.

There are generally charities who assist people with claims to some nationalities. So you may want to research on charities in the Netherlands who can either help you with the application or who can, at the very least, provide you with the advice that you need.

The Indoproject linked to above is a charity, though its aim is not assisting with nationality claims. Try reaching out to them for guidance on whom to contact further. Note that this is not an endorsement of them, merely pointing them out as a resource from Google.

Indeed, all the information above is based off Google searches and should be treated as such (i.e. as non-legal advice).

[Valiant24]

Thanks for the interesting and comprehensive reply.

[lizardmusic]

Hi Valiant24 - I think my situation is the same or very similar to yours.

I have contacted a couple of Dutch immigration lawyers about this, and got two different answers (which they gave free of charge). One said a passport application would very likely be rejected due to information secret.simon outlined. The other said there should be no problem since, as you pointed out, the UK has only just left the EU...

I get the impression that people in our situation are likely to have their applications rejected, as you did, but it also seems from some case studies on immigration law firm websites that this has been appealed successfully at times.

I am considering splashing out on a lawyer if my application is rejected - if helpful I can let you know the outcome. Alternatively you might find it helpful to email some Dutch immigration lawyers as presumably they would tell you if they thought they could help you.

[secret.simon]

@lizardmusic, could you ask the free lawyers that you contacted to cast an eye on this thread and ask them to critique my research and perhaps add more to this thread directly?